>> A record-low 73.1 percent of university students have jobs waiting for them after graduation this year, a figure that also marked a record year-on-year fall and highlighted the bleak employment situation, according to government statistics. The figure was down 7.4 percentage points from a year ago, as of Dec. 1, and was the lowest since such statistics were first compiled in 1996. It fell for the second straight year. <<

>> Yearly incomes of parents of students at the University of Tokyo in 2008 decreased apparently due to the recession, a school survey has revealed. According to the university's survey on campus life conditions, students from households with an income of less than 4.5 million yen jumped to 17.6 percent from the previous year's 9.3 percent. <<